Hays Post

HAYS -In a preliminary hearing Thursday, Ellis County Judge Richard Flax held Chance Charles Keiswetter over for trial on two counts of solicitation of a child and one count of possession of child pornography after the prosecution submitted two Facebook conversations and several photos as evidence. Keiswetter was arrested in August and was released on bond in September.

At the hearing, Assistant Ellis County Attorney Crystalyn Oswald presented two social media conversations and several photos as evidence of the alleged crimes. The Facebook conversations involved Michael Hays — a name the prosecution said used as an alias — and two teenage girls. In both conversations, Keiswetter, age 25 at the time of his arrest, is accused of asking both girls to engage in sexual relations. Ellis County Detective Aaron Larsen seized the conversations after a complaint by a parent and testified at the hearing.

Detective Jeff Ridgway, an investigator on the High Tech Crime Task Force, also testified about the seizure of Keiswetter’s laptop. During an investigation, Ridgeway reported finding seven images that he considered pornographic images of a child.

A date for Keiswetter’s arraignment is being scheduled.